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Our director of education reports receiving "a short but poignant letter" from governors bemoaning the deluge of consultation documents from the Department for Education and Employment and the local authority. Governing bodies are required to formulate an in-depth collective response, usually by the day after tomorrow.

The director warns us things are about to get worse. The LEA has a statutory obligation to consult us in the next few months on its education development plan, key stage 1 class size, "Fair Funding", New Deal for Schools, behaviour support, early-years child care, lifelong learning, asset management, youth work and school meals, special educational needs, community education and its Office for Standards in Education action plan.

A recent local authority consultation on increased delegation posed a series of technical questions on alternative formulae under every budget heading. Were we supposed to be calculating the best scenario for our school or the most equitable system for the whole authority? We returned a blank form to the finance department. This is their job.

Mostly we try to respond, but an occasional statement from the DFEE that "after consultation we are making the following major changes" would certainly help to raise our spirits.

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